2021-2022
COVID-19 Protocols for the Start of School
(As of August 13, 2021)
Art a la carte
Art a la carte will resume in the Fall of 2021. More information will be sent out by P.L.U.S. closer to the start of school.
Athletics
Both Parish Sports and Middle School athletics will resume in the fall of 2021. Information about both programs is available on the Athletics section of the school website.
Birthday Treats & Birthday Lunch
Parents are invited to drop off a special lunch and birthday treats on their child’s birthday or half birthday (for summer birthdays). An online sign-up feature will be sent to you from your teacher, or room parent, to avoid two birthday treats on the same day. Small treats such as cupcakes, cookies, or brownies are preferable for your child’s grade level (no nuts please). All treats must be store-bought.
In addition, every child is recognized during morning prayer on their birthday.
Brown Bag Lunch
At this time, we will not plan for a Brown Bag Lunch in the fall. Parents will be given the opportunity to order Chick-Fil-A for their students in late September.
COVID-19 Safety Measures
To help prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 on campus, we will continue with these measures:
Hand sanitizer at entrances to the school and all classrooms.
Air purifiers in every classroom.
Hand washing stations outside at recess and in the courtyard.
Enhanced cleaning and disinfection of campus spaces and surfaces.
COVID-19 Testing Requirements after Travel
Students will be required to present a negative PCR COVID test after traveling to a hotspot or out of the country. Tests must be taken after returning to Houston.
COVID-19 Vaccines
We encourage every SMCS community member to get vaccinated as they are eligible. We do not currently have a plan to require the COVID-19 vaccine for students or adults, and we will update our full community with ample notice should this ever change.
Field Trips
We feel that school field trips are essential SMCS experiences, and our goal is to provide these experiences in the 2021-2022 school year. Field trips will resume when the COVID conditions have improved in our area.
Lower School Ancillary Classes
Lower school students will return to traveling to their ancillary classes (Art, Music, Library, Spanish, and Technology).
Lunch
Students will have the option to bring lunch from home or to buy lunch from ECI, our catering company. ECI will continue to use their online ordering system that was implemented for the 2020-2021 school year. All lunches will be boxed up and ready for students at their lunchtime. ECI will transition to a hybrid system of offering on-line ordering system as well as offering the lunch line service for 1st-8th grade students later in the fall of 2021.
Masks
To start the school year, masks will be required for all students while inside. Masks will also be required for all adults including staff, volunteers, and visitors while inside on campus.
Middle School PE Uniforms
To start the 2021-2022 school year, middle school students will not change into PE uniforms for PE. We will re-evaluation this again in October 2021.
Morning Prayer/Morning Assembly
We will continue to do morning prayer in homeroom classrooms to start the 2021-2022 school year. We will re-evaluate morning assembly in the gym in October 2021.
Nap Mats for PK3-Kindergarten
Students in PK3-Kindergarten will be asked to provide their own nap mat for the 2021-2022 school year. We encourage you to order nap mats with the handles on them as they are easier for the students to carry. It is also wise to have your child's name on their nap mat.
Nap mats can be purchased here:
Personal Space Dividers
We will discontinue the use of personal space dividers in the classrooms. Plexiglass dividers will be removed from the cafeteria, but students will continue to sit every other seat for social distancing purposes.
Quarantining & Contact Tracing
In each instance of a positive case, we will continue to contact trace but quarantine only those individuals who have been within 6 feet of the individual who tests positive for more than 15 minutes, per the CDC definition of a close contact. Adults who have been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks prior to exposure will not have to quarantine.
Remote Learning
While remote learning supports our COVID-19 protocols and is convenient for families, it is also disruptive to on-campus education due to the amount of time teachers must spend to provide adequate education using this medium. Parents should prepare for remote learning to be restricted to the following groups:
Those in quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure or a positive test (assuming they are well enough to learn).
School Mass
We will continue to attend daily Mass by grade levels. Two grade levels will attend Mass each day instead of one. Students will start attending Mass the week of September 13.
Monday-7th&8th Grade Mass Day
Tuesday-5th & 6th Grade Mass Day
Wednesday-3rd & 4th Grade Mass Day
Thursday-1st & 2nd Grade Mass Day
Friday-Kindergarten & PK4 Mass Day
Temperature Checks
We will no longer take temperatures during morning carpool. Each lower school grade level will have a thermometer for teachers to share. Upper school teachers will have access to thermometers in both the assistant principal offices.
Visitors, Volunteers & Events on Campus
We will welcome a limited number of visitors onto campus. Faculty and staff can resume in-person meetings with families. Masks will be required for all adults including staff, volunteers, and visitors while inside on campus.
